Can SSM Pass the NY House?

But then again, they said that about the Rhode Island House ... and the Maryland House, too.

And there are new factors to consider this year:

"There's a sense that because it's passed three times, it's a given it'll pass again," said Dennis Poust, a spokesman for the Catholic group [the New York State Catholic Conference]. "But they're not taking into account the fact that the speaker lost 10 seats in the election."

The organization also is taking into account the departures of Democrats Nettie Mayersohn and Darryl Towns, and the pending departures of Audrey Pheffer and RoAnn Destito, all of whom voted for the bill in 2009.